Pineapple Pizza
by Vanamo
Summary: Oneshot. After Wilson's Heart, Someone finds Thirteen on the roof. First published story, please R&R.


It looked like a nice night from the view on the roof of the hospital. The reminded her of an old painting. The vivid hues faded, making way for the intimidating storm clouds in the distance. It seemed appropriate, the thought flashed through Thirteen's racing mind as she sat on the ledge, her legs crossed Indian style. No matter how beautiful the sky was, this day was the worst of her life. Amber was dead; House was in a coma. Nobody had noticed when she had slipped out of diagnostics up to the lab the previous day. No one had said anything while she made her way to the roof, her death sentence in her pocket.

She had never been one to cry, but now seemed like a wonderful time. She shed her doctor's coat and sweater, leaving her exposed in her tank top and suspenders to the cool summer night air. Combined with the hot tears on her face, it felt sobering. Letting out another whimper and river of tears, she pulled her knees up against her body. What did any of this matter? It all felt irrelevant compared to the horrible things awaiting her now.

She gasped, feeling dry, warm fingertips on her back. Disregarding her tears and spinning around, she had no idea who to expect. His mouth opened slightly to ask if she was alright, but was obviously stunned. She shook her head slightly, more tears falling out. Of all people, it was just humiliating for him to see her like this.

Being the naïve, caring guy he was, he rubbed her back gently. She vaguely wondered what image her face was portraying. Did she really look that vulnerable as to give him permission to touch her like this?

Shaking her head again, she leaned into his chest. Surprised at the least, he carefully wrapped his arms around her tiny frame. Her whole body was visibly trembling. Every now and then she tried to say something but she couldn't manage more than breath caught in her throat. By the time she had finished soaking his stripped shirt night had fallen, clouds quickly extinguishing stars. Thirteen had moved back a bit, her arms around her legs, making room from him to sit down. He kept his hand on hers, reminding her that he was still there.

She started shivering a bit as the temperature continued to plummet. Kutner stood up. "We should get inside before you catch pneumonia. I can give you a ride home." He said. She continued to stare blankly. Even though she was facing him it was like she was staring off miles in the distance. After a minute of processing what he had said, she mumbled, "You don't want to leave me alone. I'll do something I'll regret."

"Well if you are into sci-fi and fantasy, I have some movies and we could order some takeout at my place." Thirteen nodded once and let him lead her back into the deserted hospital. After the autopilot process of leaving coats in the locker room and grabbing wallets, they left the hospital together. Thirteen tried desperately not to look at her hands, just imagining years down the road when they would start to shake.

As soon as they reached his apartment the rain started pouring in buckets. Kutner didn't mind because his shirt was already wet. She didn't seem to even notice.

"I'll get you some dry clothes, one minute. " Kutner said, walking down the hall of his messy bachelor pad to the bedroom. Thirteen found the number Dominoes and ordered the Hawaiian special, having a gut feeling that her coworker ate about everything. After she hung up, something caught her eye.

Kutner came back out in sweatpants and an old tee carrying shorts and a muscle shirt for Thirteen. Looking around, he quickly noticed the unlocked balcony door. "Thirteen!" He yelled, fearing the worst.

She turned around, sitting on the metal floor. Her wet hair hung in clumps around her face. Her eyes looked light in contrast to the inky sky. Kutner let out a sigh of relief and started walking towards her. "Jeez, don't scare me like that. I thought you-"

"I'm dying."

His dark eyes widened. Her voice was crystal clear, but he couldn't process the words. "I took the test. I've got a dozen years, if I'm lucky. And I'm not that lucky…" She elaborated softly. Kutner felt a lump form in his throat.

"You were going to…" He couldn't finish. She shook her head. "I thought about it, but…" She trailed off.

"My parents' house had a balcony like this. It was built in the 1800's, very old. The bolts were rusty. When I was 9…it wasn't one of my mom's better days. She pushed me onto it, yelling how I would end up just like her. The bars gave way when my head hit them. I fell fifteen feet, got a cracked skull, broken right arm and two broken ribs. "She paused, looking up at him.

"I suppose she realized what she had just done. She managed to call 911 and give the address. Then she injected herself with a lethal dose of her painkillers. That's the last time I remember crying." She ran her fingers through the rusty bars. Kutner hung his head.

"I'm sorry." She nodded indifferently. It hurt him to see her like this. He knew death was a whole new degree of terrifying for her. He walked the remaining distance over to the balcony. Leaning over, he tried to shield her from the bruising rain. He helped her up into the apartment and she disappeared into another room with the clothes. The pizza box was on the counter. Silently thanking the considerate stranger for not robbing him, he cut two slices for each of them.

He turned around to see her changed into the dry clothes, bent down on her knees looking through his DVD collection. She looked skeptical. "I always pinned you as a sci-fi geek, but you have NCIS season 3 and My Fair Lady." Her voice regained a bit of sarcasm as she popped in Lord of the Rings.

Kutner mumbled something about 'fine, classical film' before taking a huge bite of his pizza. Thirteen smirked. In response, she took a swig of beer he had pulled out from the fridge.

They ate ¾ of the pizza in silence, although he could swear he heard her singing along to 'We're taking the Hobbits to Isengard'. She curled up against him, her eyes slowly closing. Kutner pulled a blanket from the floor onto them. "Thanks…for everything." She mumbled. For a few minutes, everything was forgotten and the storm sent them to sleep.


End file.
